The Calgary Stampeders are running over the rest of the CFL this season and are 7-1. This includes a 56-15 drubbing of the Edmonton Eskimos just two games ago. Calgary is led by their star quarterback, Henry Burris. Burris has already compiled 2,226 yards passing and scored 18 touchdowns for the Stampeders. Although Burris is not known for getting down the field rushing, he does have 247 yards on 38 carries. This presents just enough of a threat to keep the defenders honest.

On the other sideline, quarterback Ricky Ray has been under fire all season. Ray produced a win in his last outing and the Edmonton coaches are hoping this will get him on the right track. Ray’s inconsistency has been a major reason for Edmonton’s struggles in the 2010 CFL season.

The Calgary Stampeders Juwan Simpson is their unquestioned leader on defense. Simpson leads the team in tackles with 29, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Simpson and the Calgary defense have kept pace with their high powered offense all season long. Judging by the game played by these two teams on August 15th, this should be an easy defense of the home turf by Calgary.

The Calgary Stampeders showed off all areas of their offense in their impressive win. From a pounding running game led by Joffrey Reynolds, to an aerial assault spearheaded by Henry Burris. The Stampeders left no aspect of their offense out of the mix. Burris threw for 305 yards in the winning effort.

The BC Lions were fodder for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, losing 37-13 in a dismal effort. The BC Lions Jarius Jackson was kept in check with 194 yards passing and six yards rushing. The running game was the only effective arm of the offense, as Robertson and Davis both rushed for 84 yards with only Davis finding the end zone.

As Calgary heads into this game, they are riding a four game winning streak and are also coming off a bye week. Calgary is 6-1 this season, with their only loss coming at the hands of CFL stalwart, Toronto. The last game the two teams played, three weeks ago in BC, was a close game won by Calgary 27-22.

The BC Lions enter this game with the confidence of holding their own against Calgary three weeks ago but they have not been in the win column for the last games. This could get ugly fast if the BC Lions can’t contain Burris early.

The Hamilton Tiger Cats enter the game with a hot quarterback in Kevin Glenn and a hot slot receiver in Arland Bruce. Bruce scored the game winner last weekend against Winnipeg. The Hamilton Tiger Cats have struggled in the 2010 CFL season and are still below .500 with a record of 3-4. This game against Toronto will make or break the season for Hamilton. It could get them off to a fresh start for the second half of the season.

The Toronto Argonauts are on the other end of the spectrum. Coming off a win against East Division rival, Montreal, the Toronto Argonauts are now 5-2 and tied with Montreal for a share of the East Division lead. Toronto cannot afford to let one slip against a hungry Hamilton Tiger Cats team.

Toronto’s Cleo Lemon may not be the popular choice at quarterback but he is Head Coach Jim Barker’s choice, so he isn’t going anywhere. Running back Cory Boyd and Lemon have worked well together to this point of the CFL season and they should be more than capable of disposing of the Hamilton Tiger Cats.

Cleo Lemon, a football betting favorite player, remains the quarterback for Toronto, despite his pedestrian performance to this point of the season. Lemon’s five interceptions and four touchdowns, along with his 1198 yards passing, are not instilling fear into many CFL secondaries, including Montreal’s.

Montreal’s quarterback Anthony Calvillo, compared to Cleo Lemon is almost unfair. The two quarterbacks are in different stratospheres. Calvillo’s touchdown to interception ratio is 12 touchdowns to two interceptions and he has already thrown for 1,858 yards in six games. The quarterback advantage was exploited two weekends ago in the first regular season meeting between these two teams. The two also met in the pre season and Montreal won 23-31 in Montreal.

Neither teams are defensive stalwarts and action will ensue from the opening kickoff. Although the score of the last game in Montreal was 41-10 in Montreal’s favor, don’t look for this game to be as one sided. Cleo Lemon is the key in this game. If he can keep the ball out of the Montreal corners hands and throw for 250-275 yards, Toronto could pull this game off and even up their record with Montreal.

At Rogers Centre, Football Week will centre around four events. By hosting the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 14, the Argos will kick the festivities off, before concluding the week with game against their archrivals, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, on Aug. 20.

In November, the Bills will play a regular-season game in Toronto against the Chicago Bears. The Ontario Varsity Football League will be the other event, staging its conference finals Aug. 15 at Rogers Centre. During the week, Bills and Argos officials will also make personal appearances as well as participate in a taped public service announcement promoting the event and Football Canada. Chief operating officer Russ Brandon feels that Buffalo’s participation in Football Week in Toronto is another step in that direction.

Toronto Argonauts president Bob Nicholson said that while working with the NFL team, he doesn’t feel threatened by the Bills and spending time with the NHF team will help his club strengthen its hold in its home city. This season, the Argos could certainly use the help considering their average attendance is around 20,000 despite a 3-2 record.

Between these two, the second game will come down to a matchup of quarterbacks. Football betting star, Ricky Ray is an eight-year veteran of the CFL and in eight years, he has thrown for over 5,000 yards three times, while for the BC Lions, and Travis Gulay is the up and coming quarterback.

Even though Travis Gulay has provided some spark for the BC Lions, it is not much of threat to run. Despite Gulay’s inability to bolt from the pocket, in the CFL, he is expected to develop into a premier quarterback. The BC Lions coaching staff is behind Gulay, although this year, he has had his difficulties finding the end zone.

Ricky Ray of the Edmonton Eskimos has racked up 1,090 yards in his first four games, although his season had a rough start. The 0-4 start has fallen squarely on Ray’s shoulders and in finding the end zone this season; he had a tough time.

In the first half of the season, this may be Edmonton’s best chance to win a game. To pull off a home victory, Ricky Ray and his Edmonton teammates should have the motivation, after the 25-10 loss to the BC Lions in the first game.

The BC Lions have struggled to score in their last two games after their initial win. Quarterback Casey Printers, football betting star, is the scapegoat to this point in the season. Printers game against Montreal summed up his disappointing season.

Printer’s was 20 of 40 passes completed and threw one touchdown but he made a huge mistake on a deep out route, throwing into double coverage and getting picked. Printer’s second pick was terrible throw that was behind Paris Jackson. To be fair, Printer’s is hobbled by a quad injury but he said after the game it was not affecting his ability to move in the pocket.

On the other side of the ball the Toronto Argonauts have been squeaking out some close victories but they have won their last two games. Cleo Lemon has been just good enough to keep Toronto in their games and running back Cory Boyd has rushed for over 100 yards in Toronto’s two wins.

The Toronto defense needs some work but they have had their moments. Toronto’s defense has improved as the season moves forward but they will need to cut their points allowed if they want to be a contender for the Grey Cup.

On the other side of the field will be the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Saskatchewan has broken from the gate with two hard fought wins to start their CFL season. Saskatchewan avenged their Grey Cup loss of 2009, with an exciting overtime victory over the CFL champion, Montreal Alouettes, 54-51, in a barn burning start to the 2010 CFL season. Then Saskatchewan dispatched of the BC Lions in week two in a fairly easy 37-18 victory.

This game will not be an easy win for Saskatchewan as both teams take this home and home series seriously. Saskatchewan’s Darian Durant is coming off a performance against the BC Lions worthy of capturing the CFL Offensive Player of the Week last week. Durant and Edmonton’s QB Ricky Ray will be focal points of this week’s grudge match. The edge in the QB department for this game will have to go to the hot hand, Darian Durant.

The breakdown for this game is simple. If the Edmonton Eskimos offense is anything like their first two games, Saskatchewan won’t break a sweat on their way to their third win. Edmonton’s only hope is to try to emulate Montreal’s attack on Saskatchewan’s defense in their game. One problem facing Edmonton. They do not have the talent of Montreal. Saskatchewan should win this game by two touchdowns.

Following a difficult week one, these teams will square off. In an absolute shootout, the Alouettes took on Saskatchewan. The two teams combined for more than 100 points. The Alouettes were unfortunately defeated by a score of 54-5.

Likewise, the Eskimos had a tough week one. They were thoroughly handled as they took on BC. They managed to score just 10 points while surrendering 25. For BC, this lack of offensive output will be a big concern as they start the season.

To put up points against the Alouettes, the Eskimos will have to find a way, as they are a high-powered team. They will score a lot of points against just about any defense in the league, although their offense can be slowed to some extent. The Eskimos cannot afford to put up 10 points on the board again if they hope to compete in this one. So for now Alouettes are the football betting odds favorite for this upcoming event.

Last year, the Alouettes were the Grey Cup Champions. This being said, if they hope to repeat this season, they cannot afford a start of 0-2. Sometimes a poor start can cause your team to lose momentum and allows other teams to hit the ground running. on both sides of the ball last year, the Alouettes were one of the best teams and will need a solid game both offensively and defensively to get back on track towards the Grey Cup.

Toronto comes into this game after a shellacking at the hands of the Calgary Stampeders and although Cleo Lemon did not look incredible in his debut for Toronto but he did throw for almost 200 yards against a tough Calgary defense and looked like he managed the game better than expected.

The issue for Winnipeg will be if they can put the same pressure on the Toronto defense that they exerted over a less skilled Hamilton Tiger-Cats team. Toronto was keeping pace with Calgary for a while until Calgary kicked it into gear last week. Winnipeg’s defense also has the advantage of being on their home field which will help with crowd noise.

Toronto’s defense will have to put pressure on Winnipeg quarterback Buck Pierce and make him force his throws. Pierce has been injured several times and if Toronto can provide pressure in the backfield Pierce will get happy feet in the pocket.

If Toronto is to win they could score some points on special teams since Winnipeg appeared to struggle on kickoff coverage, allowing a 93 yard touchdown and allowed a missed field goal to be returned for 118 yards.